Roy Jones "I'll fight for another year and I'mma call it a day"

Roy is apparently doing what he always said he would NEVER do from back in his amateur days - hanging around well past his expiration date as an elite talent.

I was never a huge Roy fan in his prime. Quite the contrary, I was one of his biggest critics. That said, I've grown to appreciate him more with time, and I think he still has a tremendous amount left to offer boxing - OUTSIDE the ring! He's an exceptional commentator!

I hope that Roy gets out soon, and I wish him the best of luck!

Very sad seeing this thin shell of what he once was, for although I was critical of his business decisions at times, I never had any doubt that he was one of the most physically gifted ATHLETES to ever lace them up.

 

That's THE #1 most important part.

I'll tell you guys another story quickly. I covered the Judah-Matthysse fight at the Prudential Center, which was covered by HBO and announced by Roy, Max, and Jim--all of whom I do have a certain level of respect for, because I know those guys take a lot of ****, and it's a difficult job where it's impossible to please everyone.

Anyway, during the untelevised undercard bouts, Max and especially Lampley did not seem to be paying much attention to any of the action in the ring. In fact, both (especially Lampley) were having make-up applied a good deal of the time.

Meanwhile, while all of this was going on, I noticed two things:

1. Roy was watching every single bout on the under card and clearly paying close attention.

2. In between bouts, Roy was just being a total class act, and he was signing autographs, taking photos with fans, and he was just interacting with them in general. He was actually talking to some of them, and not just a quick "Yeah! Hello! Great" blowing them off. He was genuinely engaged with the fans.


I, for one, had a great deal of respect for that. It honestly impressed me, and my admiration for Jones reached a new level that night.

 

Yeah, but he's already gone beyond previous deadlines in the past.

So who knows what he will be saying 1 year from now.